‘Acute shortage’: MHA asks ministries to prepare list of IAS, IPS officers to be sent to J&K

New Delhi: In an interesting development, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked all cadre-controlling authorities to prepare a list of IAS, IPS and other all-India service officers who can be immediately sent on deputation to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh citing “acute shortage” of officials in the two newly created Union territories, a report said on Saturday. 

The MHA, in an office memorandum dated October 26, sent to all cadre-controlling authorities ‘requested’ that “the willingness of Central Civil Services Officers, selected through Central Civil Exams conducted by the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) may please be obtained” for a stint in the two UTs, reported The New Indian Express.

The MHA asked the authorities to “provide the name(s) of suitable officer(s), eligible for deputation in terms of existing guidelines and willing to serve in the Governments of UT of J&K/UT of Ladakh, along with the cadre-controlling authority’s consent/no objection and vigilance clearance of the officers at the earliest”. 

According to the news report, the letter has been sent to the Railway Board chairman, Controller General of Accounts, Comptroller Auditor General of India, secretaries of the ministries of defence, external affairs, corporate affairs and I&B, chairpersons of the Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, and the departments of commerce, telecommunications and posts. 

J&K has a stipulated cadre strength of 137 IAS officers. But, only 58 are serving in the cadre of which nine officers are on deputation to the central government, sources said.  Similarly, while the cadre strength for IPS officers is 147, only 66 are currently serving.